Alba profit falls 72.5% in Q3 as three smelting lines stay down

Summary

• Alba reported Q3 2026 profit of BD18.5 million ($49.3 million), down 72.5% year-on-year.
• Nine-month output fell 41% after a controlled shutdown of Reduction Lines 1, 2 and 3.
• Nine-month profit still rose 44.3%, showing high prices only partly offset lost volume.

The latest

Profit attributable to shareholders at Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) dropped to BD18.5 million ($49.3 million) in the third quarter of 2026, a 72.5% fall from BD67.3 million ($178.9 million) a year earlier, the company told Bahrain Bourse on 10 November. Earnings per share fell to 13 fils from 48 fils. The smelter said output recovered progressively during the quarter after controlled adjustments to manage raw-material constraints.

Details

• The quarterly numbers: Total comprehensive income attributable to shareholders was BD20.5 million ($54.5 million) in Q3 2026, down 69.6% from BD67.5 million ($179.4 million) a year earlier, according to the disclosure filed with Bahrain Bourse under the ticker ALBH.
• The nine-month picture: Across the first nine months of 2026 Alba reported profit of BD158.7 million ($422.1 million), up 44.3% from BD110.0 million ($292.4 million). Earnings per share rose to 112 fils from 78 fils, and total comprehensive income climbed 51.8% to BD161.1 million ($428.4 million).
• Production collapse: Net finished production fell 41% year-on-year to 709,395 metric tonnes over nine months, which Alba attributed primarily to the controlled shutdown of Reduction Lines 1, 2 and 3 amid regional disruptions. The company did not give a restart date for the three lines.
• Sales and product mix: Sales volume dropped 33% to 800,792 tonnes, which Alba linked to lower production availability alongside regional shipping and logistics disruptions. Value-added products made up 67% of total shipments at 532,591 tonnes, themselves down 41% year-on-year.
• Prices worked the other way: London Metal Exchange prices averaged $3,226 a tonne in Q3 2026, up 23% year-on-year, supported by constrained supply. LME inventories fell 53% to 241,000 tonnes, reinforcing tightness across major consuming regions.
• Balance sheet: Total equity attributable to owners stood at BD2,183.6 million ($5,807.4 million) as of 30 September 2026, up 4.8% from end-2025. Total assets rose 9.8% over the same period to BD2,880.1 million ($7,659.8 million).
• Supply and demand: Alba's market intelligence put global supply down about 1% year-on-year, with a 6% drop outside China outweighing 3% Chinese growth. Demand held at roughly 1%, rising about 4% in China while falling about 1% in Europe and 8% in the United States.
• Market deficit: The global aluminium market remained in deficit at about 485,000 tonnes, with ex-China markets short by roughly 108,000 tonnes. Regional premiums strengthened in the US Midwest, Rotterdam and Japan, which Alba linked to physical tightness and shifting trade flows.
• Company priorities: Alba said its 2026 focus is the full ramp-up of Reduction Line 4 while protecting smelter stability, asset integrity and supply-chain resilience, and keeping flexibility to respond to regional conditions. Line 4 progressed towards full ramp-up during the quarter.

Background

Alba describes itself as the world's largest aluminium smelter on a single site. Its reduction lines are the core production units; taking three offline removes a large share of annual capacity regardless of where prices sit.

Between the lines

The nine-month profit gain and the quarterly collapse are not contradictory: a 23% price rise carried the earlier part of the year, but with 41% of production gone, the price effect ran out. Alba's own outlook expects Gulf restarts and Indonesian capacity to ease supply tightness, which would remove the price support just as it tries to restore volume.

What's next

Watch the full ramp-up of Reduction Line 4 and any announcement on restarting Lines 1, 2 and 3, plus the full-year 2026 results disclosure to Bahrain Bourse and LME price direction as Gulf and Indonesian capacity returns.

Source: Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) disclosure to Bahrain Bourse